The mantra of employee experience rings true when female employees and every other section of the workforce are supported and celebrated for their differences and specific needs. When all sections and segments of the workforce feel uplifted for their unique characteristics, facets of age, ethnicity, gender, and schools of thought become assets instead of divisive forces. The World Economic Forum, along with several respected corporate bodies across the world, has trained an eye on the need to support female employees through the recovery phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is because support from employers is one of the key factors in making the women workforce feel engaged and “well”.
The wellness of female employees is not too different from that of other sections of the workforce. Everyone needs to feel safe at their place of work. The challenge placed in the job role ought to be a stimulant toward better work performance, and not a stressor. In the pandemic, the progress made by female employees, in particular, has generally been agreed to be set back several years. Without the support structure of a community, school, teachers and tutors and hired assistants, the workload at home has increased exponentially for women who play traditional roles in support of children and home. These effects were further exacerbated when “shelter-in-place” orders necessitated by the pandemic relegated women to being mentally, emotionally, and physically spent. At a time when none of these stressors can be removed or returned to their previous states as they were before the pandemic, the onus is upon employers to be more understanding and supportive of their female employees.
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Examples of companies making headway in encouraging female employees are on the rise, and some of them are outlined here along with the paths they took:
The health vigil: Young mothers are grappling with the healthcare and support needs of school-aged children. This means often that they don’t have time to attend to their own needs of well-woman check-ups and timely medical procedures that are routine at each age group. Globally, Google is supposed to have one of the most employee-friendly health plans.
A place to share: Accenture India’s Vaahini is a network for female employees. Women’s welfare topics such as first-generation women entering workplaces, career-women priorities and concerns, and specific threats are discussed on this forum. This is a place for women to share their worries freely without the worry about being judged or victimized for airing their concerns.
Support for young families: Employers often think maternity benefits are the beginning and end of offering support to the women in their workforce. The tide has turned now with many companies realizing that providing parental leave and parental benefits allows young fathers to participate in their children’s pressing needs, thereby not making the mothers the default parents. Netflix leads the corporate movement of support for female employees and male workers too through unlimited parental leave.
Flexible work: Time flexibility is a precious thing for multi-taskers, female employees, in particular. Looking out for female employees of any age by being understanding and accommodating of their bodily functions and consequent needs for flexibility at work is a small but thoughtful gesture in making them feel cared for. A milestone example in this case is Zomato.
Encouraging new entrants: Stilted treatment of the girl child, often skewed towards certain domains or subjects was a common thread in India’s social fabric. Countering this, IBM India launched collaborative programs with India’s State Governments to encourage girls and women in the hard sciences and towards STEM courses.
Support of this nature in every aspect of life including social inclusivity, mental health, general health, and pandemic-related anxiety will continue to be needed by all employees including women. Corporate India proves that it is cognizant of a greater need for this and is stepping up its efforts.
References:
- These Organizations Show How Best To Support Female Employees Post-Pandemic | DeloitteBRANDVOICE| JUL 14, 2021
- Women and jobs: Will ‘work from home’ push more women into the workforce?|Business Standard|Ishaan Gera| APR 23, 2021
- 10 top companies for Indian women in the workplace|Naree.com| APR 2019
- Six in 10 women employees in India feel less optimistic about their career prospects today than before pandemic: Survey|The Economic Times|Brinda Sarkar| MAY 19, 2021
- The Deloitte Global report, “Women @ Work: A global outlook|Deloitte WomenatWork|2021
- Best companies for Women in India & Most Inclusive Companies Index|Working Mother Media | Avtarinc.com|2020
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